'Gruesome': Stinking whale carcass hauled away from beach

Stuart Cumming
Reporter
Stuart studied journalism at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. He worked briefly at Central Queensland News and Warwick Daily News. He has worked as a reporter at The Chronicle since July 2009.

Photos

She said no other marine life would benefit from the whale's death if it was taken to landfill.

"We just think it would be best if they let nature take it's course," Mr Phillips added.

No elected council representatives were available to front a press conference about the exhuming process, due to it being an "operational matter".

Instead, Sunshine Coast Council coastal engineer Georgia Keeshan explained how the $30,000 task was being undertaken.

"One of the major factors of this particular works is that we have to travel the whale 5km up the beach, which is proving a logistical challenge," Miss Keeshan said.

An excavator was being used to break up the "relatively in-tact" whale into segments and then lift them into plastic-lined skip bins before they were dragged on a sled up the beach to Kawana Surf Club to be loaded into trucks.

It was then dumped into a purpose-built hole at the council's Caloundra landfill site.

Miss Keeshan said workers closest to the carcass had to wear hazmat suits with breathing masks, gumboots and gloves.

"Most importantly we have got Vicks, which we are lining the masks with and underneath our nose to try and help with the smell.

"It is just very important that we stand upwind and not downwind of the animal."

She said the council had done letterbox drops for nearby residents alerting to the possibility of the smell.

"Hopefully the residents know about that and keep their windows shut."

Sand contaminated by bodily fluids was also removed.

"It is definitely one of the more gruesome and difficult tasks, notwithstanding the fact that it had to be done in quite a short period of time."

Miss Keeshan said about 50 workers made up of council staff and contractors were involved in the operation.

Council CEO Michael Whittaker said in a statement that the time required to plan the operation had not resulted in increased costs.

"The weather conditions, availability of machinery and logistical planning involved in this operation mean it is likely the carcass would have been placed in a holding burial when it washed ashore last week, resulting in similar costs associated with this operation to date," Mr Whittaker said.

"So any comments suggesting it would have been cheaper to remove the whale the Sunday before last are inaccurate.

"Apart the atrocious weather conditions that day, it would have been near impossible to arrange the permits, multiple excavators, large trucks and heavy machinery, let alone the significant number of staff, contractors, traffic control, machinery operators and police required onsite to dissect and remove the whale safely.

"I doubt very much the public would have appreciated a rotting whale being left on the beach while conditions improved and logistical planning was completed.

"The estimated cost of the operation to exhume and dissect the whale and transport it to landfill is about $30,000 which is significant, and that's why we are asking for State Government assistance.

"We aren't the first council to have to deal with this issue, and as whale populations increase it will become increasingly common for coastal councils to manage these situations as whales undertake their annual migration.

"The work undertaken in the past week will provide council with valuable insights to help us manage the issue of coastal whale strandings into the future."